Drag Illustrated Issue 127, November 2017 | Page 114

PJ NORTH TO HEADLINE PDRA BANQUET By Lisa Collier T h e Pr o f e ss i o na l D ra g R a c e r s Association always celebrates their world champions with a fun and elegant cere- mony held each year in conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show. The 2017 PDRA Championship Awards will once again be held in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown on Satur- day, December 9th. The Awards will be held in the Indiana Ballroom and will feature a buffet dinner and the Awards program, followed by music and dancing to end the night. New this year, the Championship Awards welcomes hit recording artist PJ North. PJ North, a Nashville-based singer who is breaking genre boundaries with his own style of Country music infused with Pop and Hip-Hop, found a home with drag racing fans thanks to his songs about the sport. As a Stock and Super Comp racer himself, North is passionate about drag racing, evidenced through songs like “Be 00 Take 00”, “Glory”, and a theme song for two- time NHRA Pro Stock world champion Erica Enders-Stevens, “Racing in Red.” “I’m really excited to perform at the PDRA Championship Awards,” said North. “I can’t wait to be a part. I know a lot of the guys that race PDRA. It will be a good time to get together with everybody and celebrate the winners of the year and hopefully be able to give them something a little different.” North has been featured in Drag Illustrat- ed and National Dragster, and regularly plays shows around the country while also focusing on a strong songwriting career. “We do shows as much as we can. I think we’re going to start ramping up again soon since my new EP just came out in September.” Learn more about PJ North and listen to his much at http://www.thepjnorth.com/. His music is available wherever music is found, including Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. Before the incredible Awards ceremony, the PDRA will be joining the 30th Annual PRI Show in booth #4453, December 7-9, at the Indiana Convention Center. “We invite everyone to stop by to say hi and join us for our annual press conference that will be announced at a later date,” invited Judy Franklin, PDRA Awards coordinator. “We are very excited to hold our 2017 Championship Awards at the In- dianapolis Marriott Downtown again! The hotel is going through a lot of renovations and updates with the rooms already completed. Tommy, the girls, and I stayed there while in Indy in July and the accommodations were very nice with a fresh, modern look. “We are also very excited to have PJ North com- ing to perform at the Championship Awards! PJ is a well-known bracket racer and entertainer so what better person to perform for our Champions and guests!” 2017 FLATOUT GASKETS NITROUS WARS Tommy Franklin, Musi Racing Engines successfully defend title By Lisa Collier T h e 2 0 17 Fl at o u t G a s k e t s N i - trous Wars produced a number of stars throughout the season. The Flatout Gas- kets Nitrous Wars event titles, awarded to the No. 1 qualifier in Switzer Dynamics Pro Nitrous presented by MoTeC, were traded throughout the season between three engine builders and four drivers. Jay Cox and his Buck Racing Engines power got the first coveted nitrous bottle trophy of the sea- son, but quickly handed the title to Musi Racing Engines president Lizzy Musi in her “King Kong” ’15 Dodge Dart. The title stayed with Musi Racing 114 PDRA660.com Engines for the third stop, the Spring Nationals, with Tommy Franklin qualifying on top of the field. Cox got his second and final Flatout Gaskets Nitrous Wars title in Maryland before Franklin went on a tear, getting the No. 1 qualifying spot for three of the final four events. Jim Laurita snagged the No. 1 at Tulsa Raceway Park, award- ing Reher-Morrison Racing Engines a Flatout Gaskets Nitrous Wars event title. Franklin’s four top spots, plus Musi’s one, give Musi Racing Engines five of the eight nitrous bottle trophies. Musi Racing Engines retains the Flatout Gasket Nitrous Wars title for a second consecutive year. Musi engines also hold both the ET and speed national records. Lizzy Musi set the speed record at GALOT Motorsports Park in the fall at 206.54 MPH. Franklin reset the ET record at the recent World Finals with a 3.6753-second elapsed time.